Let's Pick Up The Pace
by Mastodonic
Summary: A story about Kyouko and Ayano dating in their last year of middle school. Sequel to The Time for Change.
1. Breaks

All right, first off this is a sequel. If you are reading this and haven't read my first story: The Time For Change (I know kind of a lame title) I recommend you do that. However, this story is quite readable without reading the first one so it's your choice whether you do that or not. Now for people who have read the first one you may be able to tell this chapter is quite a lot longer than the last story's chapters. I'm planning to do all my chapters like that from now on, so tell me what you think of it. Also I probably won't be releasing as fast, but I'll try to work on chapters whenever I get the time (I'm usually working on them late into the night :p). If you notice any mistakes don't be afraid to PM me. I'll be more than happy to go and fix it. Now I hope you enjoy my story.

* * *

December: the month of Christmas. Yes, it was near that time and the Amusement Club was gathered lazily in the old tea building. Kyouko was loafing under the kotatsu, Yui was reading a manga, which Kyouko had lent her, and Chinatsu had just finished making tea and was currently serving it out to everyone. It was a typical Monday for the group.

Once she had passed out all the drinks, Chinatsu took her usual seat beside Yui. The doting girl had become much more essential to the image of Yui in the past few months and Kyouko could not help but wonder if they were going to get together soon.

On the topic of relationships however, Kyouko had a bit of her own issues. Ayano, her new girlfriend, had become extremely busy with the upcoming Christmas dance, being the student council president. Although Ayano had warned Kyouko of this happening, she did not expect her to be this busy. They barely got to talk to each other anymore, with all the student council members constantly interrupting them and the stacks of papers that seemed to be glued to Ayano's hands. Even in class she seemed to be juggling between the classwork and her student council duties.

Kyouko knew how stressful it was for her and tried to be supportive, but couldn't help but feel lonely at times. The company of her friends was no longer enough to relinquish her feelings of solitude; it had to be Ayano.

Akari, noticing her blonde friend sighing, tapped her shoulder and motioned for her to follow as she walked outside the room. Kyouko, looking up, noticed that Yui seemed to be fixated on her manga and Chinatsu seemed to be fixated on her. Kyouko decided it was safe to leave the room and got up slowly to follow Akari.

Once outside, she noticed the nip of the winter air and involuntarily rubbed her arms. Akari had been sitting on the steps of the building and said in a soft voice "What's got you down? It's Ayano isn't it? Do you want to talk about it?" She patted on the spot beside her indicating Kyouko to sit down.

Kyouko obliged and as she sat down she began to whisper in a slightly whiny voice "I just miss Ayano you know? I mean it's not like she's gone anywhere, but she's just so busy I miss her attention..." Kyouko gave a sad little smile. Even if she had been saying the same thing over and over in her head for a while, it was still nice to confide in someone else. Akari had been so supportive the last few months and Kyouko couldn't help but notice what a great friend she was to have.

"Yeah, I guess it can be hard dating the student council president, huh?" Akari sympathized, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I guess it's something you will have to get used to, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get any time together! C'mon, tomorrow I'll try and help you get a date!" Akari giggled, making Kyouko feel slightly more at ease.

"Okay! Thanks Akarin!" Kyouko smiled, bringing her younger companion into a hug. Kyouko started to realize how much everyone around her was changing. Kyouko herself, for the first time since she was little, (other than when Akari went missing for a week) was having internal and emotional struggles. While Akari was becoming very mature and reliable. Chinatsu hadn't changed too much, but she seemed less clingy now and more content. Yui was such a kuudere it was hard to notice, but there were also some slight quirks which she gained. _And it all started from a kiss I happened to walk in on_ Kyouko speculated.

"Come on we better get inside before the other two wonder where we went" Akari coaxed, as she and Kyouko rose to their feet and returned to the building.

Inside they found Chinatsu had fallen asleep on Yui's shoulder. Yui looked up from her manga and remarked "Oh, you're back Kyouko" Akari tried to not let Yui's last sentence get to her as she sat back down at the kotatsu and picked up her now, lukewarm tea.

"So... you look pretty comfortable there Yui!" Kyouko gushed.

"... Not any more so than usual..." she blinked. In disappointment Kyouko flopped back down to the kotatsu.

Some time passed and Akarin announced she was leaving. Kyouko, who had decided to go with her, asked Yui "Are you coming?"

Yui looked over to the sleeping Chinatsu and blushed slightly, saying "No I'll stay a little bit longer" Kyouko grinned.

The two girls left and started to depart for their homes. Kyouko made Akari promise not to forget about the date she had offered getting and then the two girls split ways.

The next day Kyouko got up looking forward to the day. If she could get a date with Ayano then all of the loneliness would be worth it.

Kyouko headed out for school and met up with Yui and Akarin along the way. Kyouko used to meet up with Ayano on her walks to school since they started dating, but ever since Ayano had become so tied up with the upcoming dance, she had started to go to school early.

Once they got to school, Yui went off to go get ready for class, but Kyouko grabbed Akarin and asked "So what's our strategy?"

"For now, you just bring it up to Ayano; I'll ask Himawari and the other student council members if they can help give Ayano a little break. After that we can meet back up and convince Ayano since she'll probably say no the first time."

"Alright! Sounds like a plan." Kyouko declared as she went to go get ready for class.

Once she had gotten her books, she walked down to her homeroom. She was a little bit early, but decided to wait in her desk anyway. As it got dangerously close to the bell, Ayano walked in. She had started making a habit of being almost late to every class, yet she never actually once was tardy. It was just another thing that made her so amazing, thought Kyouko happily. Once class had started and the teacher had called roll, Kyouko tapped Ayano on the shoulder.

"Hey Ayano... Ayano... Ayano-sama~"

"Hmm? Sorry Kyouko..." Ayano replied hastily, still intent on her papers. _That's what you respond to? _Kyouko sweat dropped.

"Hey, Ayano? I was wondering if you might like to go out to dinner tonight with me?" Kyouko blushed, now feeling slightly nervous.

"Yeah" Ayano replied.

"Really? Great! What time works for you?" Kyouko asked, getting excited.

"I know what you mean" Ayano droned on._ It's getting worse. _ Kyouko thought as she realized Ayano hadn't been listening. Kyouko felt disheartened, but persisted in trying to get Ayano's attention.

"It's time for the next class!"

"Isn't that true"

"Ayano! Your skirt is on fire!"

"Mmm"

"I'm going to make a woman out of you tonight~"

"That's funny, my dad said the same thing last night"

"Ugh! Don't ever say that again."

"Good job!" Ayano replied mindlessly. Kyouko sighed. She felt like crying- if it had something to do with Ayano, she could get pretty emotional sometimes.

Losing all inhibitions, Kyouko grabbed Ayano's wrist and squealed, "Ayano!" making a little bit of a scene. Ayano blushed and dropped her pen.

She turned around to face Kyouko and after the commotion had been dismissed by their classmates, she asked with genuine worry in her voice "Kyouko?" (Over the past two months Kyouko had forcefully made her drop the 'san') "What's the matter?"

"It's just... You're always so busy and you barely pay attention to me... I miss you." Kyouko whimpered. Ayano blushed and broke eye-contact.

"I- I'm sorry." Ayano spoke softly. Just then the bell rang. "Okay how about at... at lunch..." Ayano seemed to have trouble getting her sentence out. "At lunch I'm all yours okay?" she seemed to drag the words out and gave Kyouko a pained smile.

"Aww, thanks Ayano, you're the best!" Kyouko exclaimed as she gave Ayano a big hug.

"Ah! Not here! Get off me!" Ayano squealed, turning bright red.

"Umm... Ayano? We need you to get the administrative approval for allowing people outside of school to come to the dance." said a bleeding Chitose who had watched the whole hugging scene unfold.

"Oh right! I completely forgot! Sorry, I'll get on that right away!" Ayano apologized, dashing off.

Chitose started to leave when Kyouko chimed "People outside of the school are coming to the dance?"

"Well, yeah. This is an all girls school. Not many people would want to go to a dance with no boys!"

"Hmm" Kyouko contemplated. "Well it makes sense, but I think we can both agree that a dance with only girls would be better, right?" A mischievous smirk played its way onto Kyouko's face.

"What? No I- Alright, yeah!" Chitose agreed, giggling and blushing slightly. Chitose left the room and Kyouko realized she had spent a good portion of the break in the homeroom. Kyouko got up and decided to get ready for her next class, deciding that there was no more time left to visit the amusement club.

The day seemed to wear down slowly amidst Kyouko's anticipation to her lunch with Ayano. Finally, the bell rang. Ayano told Kyouko to meet her in the student council office.

"No~ You said no student council stuff!" Kyouko complained.

"Yeah there won't be, probably..."

"No. Someone will interrupt us! Meet me in the Amusement Club room." Kyouko demanded firmly.

"But-"

"No buts!"

"Alright fine! Just let me go file these papers and I'll meet you there" Ayano sighed, caving in.

"Fine, but don't get side tracked!" Kyouko said as she skipped off. As she headed to the club room she met Akari on her way.

"Hey Kyouko. Have you asked her yet?" Akari asked eagerly.

"No. I'm about to though... Speaking of which, can you keep Yui and Chinatsu out of the room for lunch.

"Sure! Just leave it to me!" Akari exclaimed.

"So how did finding extra help go?" Kyouko wondered.

"Good. In fact the other girls insisted on it. They were getting worried about Ayano's health."

"Great. Well I'll leave Yui and Chinatsu to you. Thanks again, Akarin!" Kyouko said as she went on ahead.

When Kyouko got there, she took a seat and waited a while. She got a little worried that Ayano wouldn't hold true to her word and get caught up with her duties, but the wait wasn't long until Ayano entered the room.

"Ayano! Come sit!" Kyouko insisted. Ayano walked over and sat across from Kyouko, taking her lunch out. Kyouko seemed to leer at the spot beside Ayano and bit her bottom lip before scooching to the other side, making sure to snuggle in to Ayano's side.

Ayano blushed, but fortunately, did not pull away and said in an attempt to make small talk, "How are you doing lately?"

"I miss you" Kyouko pouted, pressing slightly harder against her love.

"I-" Ayano started but dropped to a mumble "I miss you too..." It was spoken incredibly softly, but Kyouko still caught it.

Ayano pulled out her lunch, producing a neat bento. "Oh, what a cute bento you have there" Kyouko noted, pulling out her rum raisin ice cream.

"Is that all you brought for lunch!" Ayano yelled in disbelief.

"I also brought tomato juice?" Kyouko said in a feeble attempt to appease to her girlfriend.

"That is not enough! You need a balanced meal!" she yelled, trying to drill the severity of the matter into her thick skull.

"Yeah, yeah. So Ayano..." Kyouko said, quickly dismissing the matter. "I was wondering if, maybe, we could eat out tonight, also."

"Oh, I'm sorry Kyouko, but you know how busy I am and I'm already falling behind doing this..." came Ayano's near guaranteed response.

"But Akari already talked to the other members and they said they would cover for you tonight. In fact, Akarin said they insisted!" Kyouko started rambling, like when a child is trying to get their parent to buy them a toy.

"I don't know..."

"Come on, do it for me. Please?" Kyouko begged, grabbing Ayano into a hug.

The student council president's face kept growing into darker shades of red until she nearly shouted "All right! Fine!"

"Yay!"

The two girls continued to eat their lunch, enjoying each others company. Suddenly, a thought struck across Ayano's mind.

"How come Akari was helping you free my schedule?"

"Oh yeah, about that" Kyouko said realizing her blunder. "She kind of knows. Like, everything. Hehe..."

"YOU TOLD HER!?" Ayano shouted turning red once again.

"It happened by accident, I swear! She's the only one who knows! She promised to keep it a secret and she's been really helpful this whole time!" Kyouko babbled, trying to calm her down.

"Kyouko that was a-" Ayano started to say when the bell rang.

"Oh! How convenient, the bell! Well I'd better be on my way! Got to get ready for art class! See you, love you!" Kyouko interjected as she bolted out of the building.

"Kyouko, get back here!" Ayano sighed. She decided that if Kyouko wanted a date, she would have to talk to her eventually, so she decided to pack up and run to her next class.

Her class went on as usual and she droned through it as she shifted between the class and student council duties. Her mind was elsewhere however. She couldn't help but reflect on how little attention she had been paying Kyouko and felt guilty. If she felt lonely and was distracted by all this student council work, then she could only imagine how lonely Kyouko must feel. The least Ayano could do to try and make it up to Kyouko would be to go on this date, right? Not to mention forgiving her for the whole Akarin thing.

With this in mind, Ayano felt her determination rise. From now on, she would try harder and harder to be a better girlfriend. Speaking of which, calling herself a girlfriend still made her giddy and made her heart beat slightly faster. She found it hard to grasp still; in all her years of unrequited love with Kyouko, she had never once imagined that they would actually start dating. She wondered where she had gathered the courage that day to tell her that she loved her; she certainly didn't have that courage with her all the time.

Lost so deep in her thoughts, on top of multitasking, she hardly noticed the bell ring and was almost left behind in the classroom. Once she noticed that everyone was leaving, she quickly got up and followed. She started heading to the student council room, anxious for the next class where she would meet Kyouko.

Ayano was about to walk in to the student council room when she heard the noise of Sakurako giggling. Ayano had noticed that on several occasions something seemed to be going on between her and Himawari. They acted like it was a secret, but at least to Ayano, it was fairly obvious they were dating.

Ayano felt a twinge of compassion come over her; she felt a little bit relieved to know other girls who were dating each other and decided to leave them to their makeshift privacy. Ayano decided to go sit outside for once, despite it being the middle of December (cold weather didn't bother her much), and found a bench to sit on.

Ayano started writing in her scheduler when she saw Yui Funami walking towards the school building. Ayano frowned a little bit. She didn't have anything against Yui, but she couldn't help but feel a little threatened by her. Kyouko and Yui had been friends along with Akari Akaza for as long as they could remember, at least to Ayano's understanding. Kyouko and Yui had always seemed really close and they had kissed once, so even if it was an accident, Ayano couldn't help but feel her confidence shake in front of this girl.

Then a thought struck her. What was Yui doing heading toward the building? She usually spent her breaks in the old tea club building. At first Ayano was worried she had missed the bell yet again, but as she looked around she saw that students were still loitering around. Maybe a bit more curious than she should have been, Ayano started to follow Yui.

Ayano kept her distance, but the longer she followed her, the more confused she became. They had passed the entrance and continued towards the other side of the school grounds. Once they had reached a bench in the corner of the school grounds where students seldom came, Yui let out a loud sigh and sat down, burying her face in her hands.

Ayano, who was conspicuously hiding behind a bush at the moment, found herself feeling very confused. Should she go and leave Yui to her privacy like it seemed she wanted, or go see what's wrong like a good friend?

Ayano was mulling this over when she started to hear a strange noise coming from Yui. A kind of whimpering sound. Ayano realized with a start that Yui was crying, or at least trying not to. Panicking, Ayano turned around and fled. Ayano found herself back at the bench she had came to at the start of the break and sat down. She felt like she had just witnessed something she shouldn't have. Ayano realized how horribly she had handled the situation and let out her own sigh of frustration.

Ayano had never had any experience with things like this, as she never had many friends growing up. She decided she should talk to Kyouko about it and noticed how convenient it was that she had a date with her that night.

Ayano checked the time and noticed that the bell would ring soon. Getting up off the bench, Ayano walked back to the main building to get ready for class.

She walked in the class to see Kyouko already sitting at her desk. They made eye-contact and Kyouko let out a cute little squeal as she shoved her face into her textbook. Ayano took her seat in front of Kyouko and said softly without turning around "I guess I can forgive you this time. After all I kind of owe you for that one thing."

"Hmm? What thing?" Kyouko asked, leaning closer.

"You know... confessing to me and everything..." Ayano whispered, feeling her face ignite.

"Awwwweee! So dere-dere!" Kyouko cheered.

"Shh! You're disturbing the class!"

"So does that mean you're still up for our date?" Kyouko asked, using her best puppy-dog eyes.

"Did I ever say I wasn't?"

"Yay! Ayano's the best!"

"Shh! What did I just say?" Ayano looked around and noticed Yui looking at the two from across the room. The two girls met eyes for a moment and then Yui calmly looked away. _What was that look for? Is she starting to catch on?_

"I'm sorry Ayano; I'm just really excited! I'll text you, all right. Oh and dress up; I'll take us somewhere fancy!"

"Um... All right..." replied Ayano, lost in thought.

* * *

Kyouko had wanted to go pick Ayano up, but Ayano insisted that they meet outside the restaurant, as her house was completely out of the way. As Kyouko stood there, she observed her surroundings. It wasn't too busy today but there were still a few people walking along the streets and a few cars were driving by.

Kyouko continued to whip her head back and forth when suddenly she saw a magnificent shade of purple. Kyouko lost her composure and found herself staring in awe.

Ayano looked gorgeous. It was nothing over the top; everything was kept simple, but Kyouko still couldn't believe her eyes. She was wearing a simple dress with a shade of blue so light it almost looked white. She had a bit of mascara on, which really thickened her eyelashes and had a light layer of lipstick on. Kyouko realized that Ayano never wore make-up on a daily basis. _How does she manage to be so beautiful? _Kyouko found herself wondering what she would look like at her wedding (not that Kyouko intended to ever let Ayano get married; Kyouko wasn't going to let this girl go).

Ayano made it to where Kyouko was standing and started to fidget, as her face turned to that shade of red it seemed to prefer. Kyouko realized that she had been staring this whole time.

"Is there something on my face?" Ayano mumbled, looking down at the crack in the pavement.

"You're beyond beautiful..." Kyouko droned mindlessly. Instead of the outburst Kyouko had been expecting, Ayano lifted her face in surprise, met her wide eyes with Kyouko's, became an even deeper shade of red, and then dropped her face back down to the oh-so-interesting sidewalk.

Kyouko, finding herself even further amazed, took Ayano's hand and led her inside. Once inside Ayano slipped her hand out of Kyouko's due to embarrassment. The two girls went up to the higher floors of the building and entered the restaurant. There, they were greeted by a handsome boy who looked a year or two older than them with blond curly hair.

"Hello, table for two?" the boy asked in an exhausted, but polite voice.

"Yes please!" chimed Kyouko

"This way please" he said as he led them to their table by a window overlooking the town. "Please excuse me; I'll be with you in one second" the boy said as he dashed off into the depths of the store.

"Wow, this is a great view." Ayano noted.

"I've been thinking the exact same thing ever since you came along" Kyouko flirted playfully.

"Eep!" Ayano's face resumed one of its deeper shades of red as she buried it behind a menu. Although Ayano had hidden her face behind the menu solely to conceal her blush she noticed a picture of a delicious looking drink. Eagerly she looked at the list and felt disheartened when she saw the price._ Maybe if I only get a salad? _

As if reading her mind Kyouko announced "Don't be afraid to spend a lot. I have quite a bit of money saved up from Comuket and stuff"

"So?" Ayano dropped the menu from her face, giving Kyouko a blank stare.

"So I can pay for pretty much any meal you order and it won't take much money out of my savings"

"You most certainly will not!"

"Will not what?"

"Pay for my meal!" Ayano declared pointing her finger at a bemused Kyouko.

"Hello ladies. Sorry for the wait, may I take your order?"

"Give us another minute please?" Kyouko asked. The boy sighed and walked off. "Why can't I pay for your meal? Wouldn't you agree it's proper manners for the boy to pay?"

"Well sure, but we're both girls?" answered Ayano, not seeing where this was going.

"Yeah, but I'm the seme so it's basically the same thing. Of course I have to pay for my sweet uke"

"Wait wait wait! When was this decided?" Ayano said slamming her hands against the table.

"Who knows? Probably around when the foundation was being laid for the Earth..." Kyouko said as she nonchalantly admired her nails.

"What? That's not fair! Why are you the seme?"

"Hmm..." Kyouko pondered as she put a hand up to her chin. "Because I can do this and you can't" Kyouko stood up from her seat and walked around to the other side.

"What are you do- kya!" Ayano yelped as Kyouko leaned in and gently bit her ear. Ayano had quickly covered her mouth as to not draw attention, and her face had beaten the high-score of the day for redness. She looked around the room to make sure people weren't looking and then whispered "What are you doing?" in a sharp tone.

"Being the seme" Kyouko replied curtly, as she began to drag her tongue up Ayano's neck.

"Umm... May I- uh, take your drinks?" said their very red-faced waiter who was averting his gaze.

Kyouko, only slightly embarrassed, regained her composure and took her seat while ordering her drink.

"And for your girlfriend?" the waiter asked, still blushing.

Ayano noticed Kyouko beam at his question. Feeling like she had somehow lost their ridiculous argument, and also in a way to get back at Kyouko, Ayano ordered the expensive drink she had been eyeing.

"And are you ready to order your meals?"

"Sorry, we still need a few minutes; my girlfriend was asking me to be her seme and wouldn't let me order!" Kyouko giggled, sticking her tongue out in apology.

"T-T-Toshinou Kyouko! That is not what happened!" Ayano shrieked her obvious response.

"... Okay..." said the waiter as he awkwardly left.

"I can't believe you would do that" Ayano said, crossing her arms.

Completely dismissing Ayano's chastisement Kyouko said "Back to the topic of Comuket do you want to come again this year?" Kyouko vaguely remembered that there was an important reason as to why she was supposed to invite Ayano, but she couldn't quite remember what it was.

"I guess, since you didn't make me go last time I can go this time" Ayano said. Kyouko wondered if she was imagining it, but she thought she might have seen tears in the corners of her eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile in the kitchen...

The blond waiter had taken a quick break to grab his phone (even though bringing phones to work is against the rules). He had the following conversation through text:

**dude 2 hot ^.^ lesbians at work!**

** sick dude! 0/0 pics! pics! pics!**

** ill try my hardest ttyl**

* * *

"Here are your drinks, are you ready to order?" the waiter arrived back at their table, phone in pocket, ready to strike.

The two girls ordered and the waiter left, losing his steel. "So Kyouko how has Yui been doing?"

"Hmm? Yui's fine, why do you ask?"

"I'm just wondering if you've noticed anything going on with her?"

"Actually now that you mention it I think her and Chinatsu might get together soon!" Ugh, another girl that made Ayano feel slightly insecure about Kyouko.

"Listen Kyouko, today I might have seen something I shouldn't have, but I know you and Yui are best friends so I can tell you something right?"

"Sure, what's wrong?"

"Well today I saw Yui... crying. I didn't really feel close enough to go help her, but I just wanted to make sure she's alright"

"Hmm... That is strange" Kyouko stated, rubbing her chin. "She's such a kuudere I could count the number of times I've seen her cry on one hand with fingers to spare."

"Do you think she's alright?" Ayano asked, visibly worried.

"Awe, you've got such a good heart Ayano. I'm sure she's fine; don't worry about it, I'll talk to her later."

"Okay thanks Kyouko" Ayano continued to contemplate the subject until their food arrived. Upon seeing it Ayano realized how famished she had become.

"Umm..." The blond waiter stood there awkwardly.

"Yes?" Kyouko asked as Ayano looked between him and her food.

"Well it's just..." The waiter's face picked up a tint of pink. "I don't usually get such pretty girls as customers. Would you mind if we could get a picture together?"

"I don't know... It feels kind of weird..." Ayano mused.

"It's fine" Kyouko argued. "Can you blame him when you come in here looking like that?" she teased, making Ayano's face match the waiter's.

"Cheese!" The waiter said as they took a group picture.

Once the picture had been taken, Ayano returned voraciously to her food.

"That looks tasty! Can I try some?" Kyouko asked, innocently.

"Hm?"

"Here I'll give you some of mine" She added, as she stuck her fork out to Ayano.

_An indirect kiss... What should I do? _Ayano wondered as she involuntarily leaned forward and took the bite.

*Click* went the waiter's phone.

"Okay, now that's just making me feel really uncomfortable" Ayano complained.

"I-I'm sorry that was the last one!" The waiter replied as he ran away.

The two girls finished their meal. Kyouko scared the waiter by yelling 'shared' when he asked if they wanted a shared bill or separate ones.

Once outside Ayano noticed the time and started to get a little worried.

"We should do this more often" Kyouko said hugging Ayano. Ayano blushed, but reciprocated the embrace. "Will you go to the school dance as my date?" Kyouko whispered into Ayano's ear.

"If we go as a couple everyone will find out."

"I don't care who knows!" Kyouko stated firmly. "If people are going to judge then they will judge. I want to go tell every person I see you're my girlfriend!"

"I'm not worried about people judging, but I'm the student council president. I could get in trouble."

"Whatever. Didn't you say you were going to be late? We can talk about this more later." Kyouko said, unconvinced.

"Oh crap!" Ayano shouted, remembering she had a curfew. "I'm sorry Kyouko, but you're right, we can talk more about this later, bye" Ayano started to run off.

"Yeah, bye" Kyouko smiled as she watched Ayano leave. Ayano didn't miss the fact that Kyouko had left out her usual 'love you'. Ayano wondered how much this was bothering Kyouko. When Ayano got home she had realized for the first time in a while she had completely forgotten of her student council work and the stress that came with it. She felt gratitude in large supply as she lay down on her bed and thought of how great Kyouko was. Ayano would need to sort this all out for Kyouko's sake.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the restaurant.

e**pic pics man! Yolo#swag!**

** they r my new tresur *A***


	2. Questions

It was a normal day for Akarin. She was walking to school on a cold and grey winter morning. Akari moved sluggishly. This part of her walk was the worst: when she was alone. When she had first started middle school, Kyouko and Yui would come pick her up at her house, but now that she had gotten used to middle school and was in her second year they would now meet up on their way to school. Akari usually droned through this part of her walk.

Akari spotted Kyouko walking towards her and Akari's face lit up instantly. Kyouko was one of her best friends in the whole world and Akari couldn't help but feel joy when she was with her.

"Did your date go well?" Akari asked with a big smile on her face. In response Kyouko hugged Akari, which greatly surprised her.

"Thank you so much! The date was amazing! You should have seen Ayano in her dress! You're the best Akarin, other than Ayano that is."

Recovering from her shock, Akari resumed her smile and hugged her friend back. "I'm glad you had a good time, Kyouko-chan."

"Yeah... I just wish I could have more time like this, but Ayano is still going to be super busy, plus she's so worried about keeping "us" a secret. I guess that's just me being selfish though..." Akari didn't answer. In fact, she couldn't answer. Was it Kyouko being selfish? Or was it Ayano being thoughtless? Akari found she couldn't decide on either and found herself in a compromise between the two choices.

However Akari wasn't left to ponder long as Kyouko shouted "Yui!" in her ear. Akari lifted her head to see her other best friend walking towards them. As Yui approached, Kyouko picked back up in conversation. "Hey Yui, how have you been lately?"

"Hmm? Fine. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, you've just seemed kinda down lately; I just wanted to make sure everything's all right"

Yui silently cursed. Was she being that obvious? "Everything's fine... I don't know what you're talking about"

"Yeah, I never noticed anything wrong with Yui-chan?" the quickly forgotten Akari added.

"Hmm... Alright then, but you know if there's anything you're worried about you can always talk to me about it! Right?" Kyouko happily stated, holding up her index finger for extra effect.

Yui looked towards the ground, covering her face with what amount of hair fell in front of it, as she bitterly smiled and mumbled "Yeah, anything."

Once they arrived, the three girls split ways. Akarin headed to her classroom, Kyouko went to 'go eat some pudding' as she put it, and Yui stood behind for a moment and watched the blonde cheerfully skip off.

"Yui-senpai!" Yui turned around and felt her chest tighten as Chinatsu came running towards her. "Hey Yui-senpai! Did you just get here? I wish we took the same route to get to school so we could walk together!" She whined, making Yui smile slightly and for a second, forget her troubles. "Uh-oh! Look at the time! I better run! Too bad we aren't in the same year too!" and with that Chinatsu finished her one sided conversation and ran off towards the school.

* * *

Akarin entered the classroom to find the normal: Himawari and Sakurako at each others throats.

Akari noted that it must have been a really big fight because the both of them had red faces, were sweaty, and were messily wearing their uniforms.

"What are you two fighting about so early in the morning?"

"Heh, you know, boobs and stuff..." Sakurako cringed at her own horrible lie.

"Oh, okay!" Akarin said as she accepted the lie without hesitation. "Are we the only ones here?"

"It _is_ only eight" Himawari said, confused.

"What? No way! My phone says twenty after! No wonder I thought it took us too long to get to school..." Akari pouted.

"Haha, that seems like something Himawari would do!" Sakurako chuckled.

"Hmm, but if it were you, you're alarm would probably wake you up too early and you'd end up oversleeping!" Himawari grinned.

"What? Why you! At least I don't have those sand bags on my chest weighing me down; I can get out of bed easily!" Sakurako retorted.

"It sure doesn't seem like it; It takes forever to make you get out of bed!" Himawari taunted, as they resumed their regular argumentation.

_She even helps her get out of bed? Such good friends! _Akari naively thought.

After a while the fighting settled down a bit and Sakurako looked over to her counterpart. "Should we do it now?" She asked in a whisper even though Akari could plainly hear her.

"I don't know maybe we should do it some other time..." Himawari replied.

"You're just being hesitant. Besides, Akari's a good person to start with."

"Umm... Is something the matter?" Akari asked, concerned.

Himawari turned around, but before she could say anything Sakurako blurted out "Me and Himawari are dating!" Sakurako grabbed Himawari's hand and intertwined their fingers as they faced Akari. Akari was shocked for a moment. Himawari and Sakurako were the last people Akarin expected to start dating. After all, they were always bickering. You could never tell they were in love just by watching them... Right?

However, Akari quickly regained her composure and said politely, "Congratulations! How long have you been dating for?"

"Hmm... A month or two?" Sakurako guessed.

"What? You haven't already forgotten our anniversary, have you?" Himawari asked, resting a hand on Sakurako's head.

"Of course not!" she yelled, swatting away the imposing hand. "I just didn't take the time to calculate it is all!"

"Uh-huh..."

Before the argument could go any further Akarin stepped in and said "Well I couldn't be any happier for you two! Any reason why you decided to wait this long to tell anybody?"

"Well it's just... you know... we're supposed to be rivals. I mean it's kind of embarrassing for everyone to know I'm in love with the boob monster..."

"Hmmph! I could say the same for you!" Himawari crossed her arms.

"No you couldn't, because I'm not a boob monster!"

"Shut up! You know what I meant!"

"Whoa! Guys!" Akarin appeased the two, trying to keep the peace. "I thought you said you were in love"

"Being in love and getting along are two completely different matters!" Sakurako stated.

"Why don't both of you say something nice to each other to make up" Akarin said, always being benevolent.

"Why do we have to do that?" Sakurako complained.

"It will help strengthen your relationship with each other! It's important now that you're dating."

"It's too embarrassing! Besides I don't even know where to start..."

"Then how about for now just look at each other and find one thing that you find attractive in each other." Himawari looked at Sakurako out of the corner of her eye and they both started to blush. She took some time looking up and down Sakurako which made the other two girls wonder if she was having a hard time finding one thing, or deciding among a lot of things.

Finally, Himawari made up her mind and said, "You're hair is really nice. I like the colour and the way it slightly curls."

Sakurako blushed along with Himawari. Sakurako, still flustered and in a hurry, trying not to take as long as Himawari did, shut her eyes and said "Your big boobs are sexy!"

"Uh..." came a sound from the door. The three girls turned to see Chinatsu standing in the doorway blushing just as much as Himawari or Sakurako. "I'm sorry for interrupting you..."

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Sakurako and Himawari turned to the defenceless Akarin.

"I-I'm sorry! Chinatsu! Please wait! Let me explain!" yelled Akarin as she ran out of the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kyouko had made her way to the student council room. She was pressed against the wall beside it as though she was pretending to be a ninja. Precariously, she opened the door slightly to see Ayano working away at her desk. Kyouko slipped in without being spotted easily, due to the fact that Ayano was absorbed in her work.

Keeping her belly to the ground, Kyouko crawled over to the refrigerator and took Ayano's pudding out. After all, she couldn't just lie to her friends. She removed the tag that said 'Ayano' from the pudding and replaced it onto her rum raisin, which she put back in the fridge.

She continued over to the oblivious Ayano and snuck up behind her. Opening the pudding, Kyouko peered over Ayano's shoulder and took a look at her work. At this point Kyouko did not even care about stealth, as it was not needed. Finishing Ayano's pudding, Kyouko proceeded to the trash bin and threw out the remaining plastic container.

"That looks boring" Kyouko commented.

"Aaahhh! T-Toshinou Kyouko! What are you doing here?" Ayano screeched.

"Last night was too much fun. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I came to see you"

"Um... Did you want something in particular?"

"Actually, yes. I think it's about time we took the next step"

"Oh..." Ayano replied lamely, feeling a little confused. _What's the next step? _She tried to think. _Let's see... we've held hands before, there was that one time we kissed, and then there's... Oh... She doesn't mean __**that, **__does she? _Ayano gulped.

"You want to take the next step?" Ayano asked, quivering with nervousness.

"Mhm!"

"Right now?"

"That's right!" Kyouko nodded.

"Wait, I mean, It's indecent to do it in this room, or in public at all, and, um, I don't think we're quite ready yet and um... well..." Ayano stammered, as she rose from her seat and started to back up.

"What? I don't see anything wrong with it and I think we're ready! I love you and want to know more about you... I want to know as much about you as I can..." Kyouko said as she walked towards Ayano, gazing into her eyes.

Ayano, feeling her excitement overtake her and her judgement sway, muttered "Well... If that's how you feel about it then... maybe..." Ayano faltered. She couldn't believe what she was saying. She always thought she was the kind of girl who would wait until she was older for things like this, but everything was becoming hazy; she felt like she was in a dream.

"Yay!" Kyouko responded. "I think it's important to start earlier, since this will probably take a while"

"Really? Y-You think so?" Ayano asked, as she realized she knew very little on the matter.

"Yeah! It might take a few days..."

"What really? That long? I thought it only took a few minutes!" Ayano panicked, as she didn't have a few days to spare.

"No, it will definitely take longer than that. Plus, we can only do it during our free time, or we'd probably get caught and get in trouble" Kyouko explained as she held a finger up for emphasis.

"Obviously!" Ayano blushed at the very thought, though she felt relieved that they would be taking breaks.

"All right, since you seem so nervous about it you can start!" Kyouko said as she plopped down into Ayano's chair.

"Me?" Ayano fretted. She didn't see how this was helping her nerves. She had no clue where to start. Ayano was sweating like crazy and was way too excited. Kyouko sat their grinning casually with her hands behind her head.

"Go ahead. Ask me any question!"

"Huh?" Ayano grumbled as she felt herself being pulled back from the surreal mindset she was in.

"What?" Kyouko jeered. "We're playing the question game! Wasn't it obvious when I said 'the next step'?"

"What? No one would be able to interpret it like that!" Ayano said as she karate chopped Kyouko on the head, steaming furiously. "And here you had me worried over nothing!"

"Aww! You weren't thinking of something perverted, were you?" Kyouko laughed.

"OF COURSE NOT!" Ayano screamed, turning a dark crimson.

"Alright never mind" Kyouko giggled. "Let's just get on with the game, shall we?"

"Actually I hate to break it to you, but I think class is about to start soon" Ayano disclosed.

"Boo!"

"Don't worry, we can continue this later, all right?"

"All right, but you better promise!"

"Okay, okay, I promise!"

* * *

After a long day of lectures Kyouko was about to head to the Amusement Club for lunch when Ayano suddenly spoke up. "Um, Kyouko?"

"Hm? What is it Ayano?" Kyouko turned around and noticed Ayano's face was extremely red. _How cute! _She thought.

"Ah, never mind, it's nothing..." Kyouko couldn't help but notice how disappointed Ayano looked as she said this.

"Aww, what is it?" Kyouko asked, walking back over to her girlfriend.

"Ahem, hey Kyouko! Are we going?" Yui called across the room, looking slightly annoyed.

"Go on without me; I'll just be a second!" Kyouko hollered back. "Now what was it you wanted to ask me?" she enquired as she brought her attention back to Ayano. "You know you can tell me anything" Kyouko tapped Ayano's nose with her finger as she said this, which did not help with the poor girl's state of embarrassment.

"Well... I..." Kyouko could see how much trouble Ayano was having saying this and was excitedly anticipating the results. "I thought, after yesterday, since you only brought ice cream for lunch... or well... I... I made you a bento..." Ayano turned her head to the side, avoiding eye contact as she shoved a bento into Kyouko's chest. "If you don't want it I-"

Ayano was quickly cut off as Kyouko tackled her into a hug. "Ayano is wonderful! It's like I'm in a shounen!"

"What? Hey, get off of me! We're still in the classroom!" Ayano yelled, as she started to chastise Kyouko.

Suddenly, Kyouko and Ayano heard mumbling coming from somewhere below them. "You can't do this in the classroom, or I'll lose control in front of everyone..."

The two girls looked down to see that the mumbling was coming from some girl they had never seen before with blood red hair. "Ahh! Chitose-chan!" Ayano screamed, as she realized it wasn't blood red hair, but white hair stained with blood. Ayano picked her friend up and out of the pool of blood and rushed off to the nurse's office. Kyouko had seen many occurrences like this before and decided just to head to the club room.

* * *

Upon entering Kyouko was almost immediately interrogated by Yui. "So, what did Ayano want?"

Kyouko cocked her head, as Yui's voice almost sounded demanding, but being a quick thinker she replied naturally, "We were just making plans for Comuket. I told you Ayano's coming with us again, didn't I?" Kyouko asked, as she started to vaguely remember the reason she invited Ayano in the first place.

"Where did you get that bento?" Yui continued, and again Kyouko thought she almost heard a hint of accusation in her otherwise calm voice.

Resisting the urge to brag about her wonderful girlfriend, Kyouko replied "I can make bentos when I'm not feeling lazy" Yui seemed skeptical, but accepted the answer.

As Kyouko started to dig in, Akari took the silence as an opportunity for attention. "There's a new transfer student in our class! Her name is Miina Aizawa!"

"Oh yeah, she's really pretty!" Chinatsu added.

"Really, how interesting. Thanks for informing us Chinatsu." Yui said.

"Oh! But, not as pretty as you Yui-senpai!" Chinatsu quickly stated. Yui ruffled Chinatsu's hair in response, to which Kyouko smirked. _They're so close to getting together! All they need is a little push... _Kyouko thought.

"Wow this bento is delicious! What is in it?" Kyouko wondered aloud absentmindedly, as she devoured Ayano's bento voraciously.

"Umm... Kyouko..." Akarin started with an expression of worry on her face. "I don't think you should be making bentos when you don't even know what you're putting in it. It could be dangerous..."

* * *

Ayano sighed. Now that school was over she could get back to the work that she fell behind on this morning. As she trudged on to the student council room, Ayano went over what had happened earlier. She was pretty sure that she had been willing to 'do it' with Kyouko. Just the thought of it made her blush.

As she finally reached the room, Ayano opened the door to reveal the one and only Toshinou Kyouko sitting at her desk. "Hey babe! Ready to pick up where we left off?"

"What? What are you doing here and what are you talking about?" Ayano droned, feeling exhausted.

"The question game! We need to play it!" Kyouko stood up and slammed her hands on the desk in front of her, resembling Haruhi.

"I'm busy..."

"You promised! You promised to me that we would continue!"

"I did? Huh... Well, can we do it sometime else? I've got stuff to do. Besides, other members will be coming soon"

"No worries!" Kyouko cheered. "We can go to the Amusement Club. I cancelled club activities for today, and as for your work, all the game involves is talking, so you can double task! I'll even help you out!"

Ayano wondered how much help Kyouko could actually be, but ended up caving in to those begging eyes in the end. "All right, all right. Just let me grab some stuff and we can go..."

"Yay!" Kyouko exclaimed as she hugged Ayano. "I'll meet you there!" she shouted as she ran off. Ayano huffed as the girl left the room and then went around gathering a few things. _May as well take a snack,_ she thought, as she proceeded to the refrigerator. But when she opened the door, she found a surprise: her pudding was gone, and it was replaced by rum raisin ice cream. It did not take Ayano two guesses to realize who the culprit was.

At first, Ayano felt her anger rise up. However, these feelings were soon replaced with delight. Ayano had gotten Kyouko's ice cream a second time. She had a chance to finally eat it herself. She would not make the same mistake twice and decided to start eating it right away, instead of treasuring it in the fridge.

* * *

Ayano took a little longer than Kyouko expected. Once she arrived, Ayano gave a simple greeting then put her papers down on the kotatsu.

"Okay so before we even begin, how do you play this game?" Ayano asked.

"It's simple, we just take turns asking each other questions. It's kind of like truth or dare, only without the dares." Normally Ayano would be nervous to play a game like this, but since Kyouko already knew that she loved her, she couldn't ask anything that would embarrass her too much, right? Wrong! After all, it's Kyouko we're dealing with.

Right off the bat Kyouko asked, "Have you ever mastur-"

"NO! OF COURSE NOT!" Ayano screamed for the second time that day.

"Of course not? It isn't that weird of a thing to do... But, still... I think that suits you Ayano" Kyouko smirked, making Ayano turn redder than she already was.

"Wh-what kind of question is that?" Ayano stammered.

"All right now you can ask me any question!" Kyouko smiled.

Ayano thought hard, not wanting to ask a weird question like Kyouko. However, Ayano had trouble thinking of a good question and in result, it was formed by her insecurities. "Have you... have you ever thought about Yui?" There was silence for a moment.

Ayano started to regret asking the question when Kyouko finally answered, "Well, I have noticed her as an attractive girl before, in fact, that's probably how I first realized I was gay. You are the only person I have ever thought of romantically though..."

Ayano sat there for a moment before finally muttering "oh." She wasn't sure whether this was good news or bad. She decided she would be way too particular if she didn't want Kyouko to even recognize Yui's charms. Ayano recognized them herself. What Kyouko had said made her feel happy, yet at the same time she didn't think it would help much with her confidence.

The awkward atmosphere lingered for a while, but eventually the game distracted the two girls and they eventually had fun with the game. Most of the questions were about quite trivial information of each other, like their favourite colours, or the kind of music they were listening to. As the game progressed, Ayano realized how little she actually knew about Kyouko and vice versa.

After a while Kyouko finally asked, "How long have you liked me for and when did it start?"

Ayano blinked. "I thought I already told you when I confessed. I've had a crush on you since the moment I saw you." She started turning really red. "I was kind of obsessed with you. I guess I still am..." The game's effects were working. It was becoming easier for Ayano to answer honestly, even though she didn't even realize it herself.

"Aww, that makes me jealous!" Kyouko pouted.

"What? How does that make you jealous?" Ayano demanded, dumbfounded.

"You've had a crush on me way longer than I've had one on you! It's not fair! Please forgive me Ayano-chan!" Ayano blushed at the new suffix.

"You know it's not really fun... You should be grateful. So, anyway... How long have **you** felt this way?" Ayano asked.

"Hmm..." Kyouko put her hand to her chin. "I'm not sure, but I think it's quite a bit longer than I've known. I realized I loved you a few days before I confessed, though." Now it was Ayano's turn to be jealous. She had been struggling with her crush for years and Kyouko only had to worry about it for a few days?

"My turn!" Kyouko announced cheerfully. "Hmm... Do you love me?" She asked looking into Ayano's eyes.

"O-of course..." Ayano blushed, turning away.

"Say it"

Ayano turned to face Kyouko, but dropped her eyes to the floor once they met. "I-I love you" she said quietly.

"I love you" Kyouko whispered as she pushed Ayano to the floor, falling on hands and knees on top of her.

"W-What are you doing?" Ayano yelled, wide eyed as she turned back to face Kyouko. Ayano started to panic until Kyouko's lips met hers. All her concerns washed away as the sensation of the moist embrace melted her brain. Even though they had been dating for months now, Ayano could still hardly believe this was happening. She had spent years adoring Toshinou Kyouko, and now dating her felt like a dream come true. It was all surreal and hard to grasp. Ayano felt her inhibitions slipping and thought for the second time that day that if Kyouko wanted to go further, she might not stop her.

Kyouko lifted her head up, breaking the kiss. "Kyouko..." Ayano moaned. Ayano thought their first kiss was good, but this second one was even better.

"Ayano is the only one I ever want to kiss." Kyouko said. "Promise you'll never leave me"

"I promise..." Ayano repeated, slightly dazed. The game was soon forgotten, along with Ayano's duties. The two girls didn't go any further that night, but found themselves content where they were.

* * *

The next day Ayano found herself quite tired, as she had stayed up the night before replaying the events which took place earlier that day. She was in a wonderful mood and it brightened even more when Kyouko came to her in the hall during first break.

"Hey, Ayano... About the dance." Kyouko started. "Could you please reconsider going as my date? I really wanna dance with you as a couple! Please?"

"We've already talked about this. People will notice and I could get in trouble. I wish we could too, but I don't think it's going to work" Ayano explained.

"No you don't" Kyouko mumbled.

"What?"

"You don't even want to! You're just too embarrassed and worried about what everyone will think!" Kyouko started to raise her voice. _Are we having a fight? _Wondered Ayano, worried.

"What? No that's not-"

"Kyouko! Are you coming to the club?" Yui came over and looked at Kyouko.

She sighed. "Yeah, let's go" Yui grabbed Kyouko's hand, which seemed out of character. As Yui dragged Kyouko towards the club room she looked back at Ayano and gave her a cocky little smirk, leaving Ayano to interpret just what it meant.


	3. Fears

A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry this chapter took so long. School got pretty busy after the new semester kicked in and then I got writer's block for a little while, but I finally finished this chapter that I've actually been planning probably since I started writing LPUTP. Anyways, hopefully there are still people reading this after all this time and if you are I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Ayano laid in bed, debating whether she should get out or not. Of course, she knew the answer, but it still seemed tempting to sleep for the rest of the day. She was feeling a bit depressed. Kyouko wasn't talking to her. At least, she was trying not to talk to her, but there were many occasions where Kyouko would start a conversation, give a surprised look, and say 'I'm not talking to you', while crossing her arms and looking the other way. It was a bit childish, but Ayano should have expected something like this to happen since she was dating Toshinou Kyouko.

Sighing, Ayano got up with a big stretch and made her way to the bathroom. _Only two more days until the dance and then I can take a little break from all this work!_ she thought. Most of the work now would just be setting up and getting prepared.

After taking care of all of her business, Ayano found herself staring in the mirror looking for acne. Although she had never actually gotten any before, this had recently become a daily habit of hers. She found herself always wondering if she was pretty enough for Kyouko. Not that it really mattered since they were fighting at the moment.

Finishing with the mirror, Ayano resumed her peaceful morning and made her way to school. She had woken up early today, as she usually did, to get extra work done for the student council before school started.

Ayano continued on with her day as usual. She made a few attempts to speak with Kyouko, but learned that Kyouko was surprisingly good at holding grudges.

"_Oh well" _Ayano sighed. It hurt a bit, but if they were going to fight Ayano would prefer it to be silly like this, instead of having a serious one.

Although Yui was acting normally, Ayano had become very paranoid of her. Whenever she was even near Kyouko, Ayano could feel the jealousy start to boil inside her; it could not be good for her health. Ayano understood she was being unreasonable, yet she couldn't forget that look she was given. Ayano had already long decided that she had just let her insecurities take over and was reading too far into it, but the memory haunted her.

Ayano was currently working in the council office after school. Deciding she needed a break from work and that she should try again to talk things out with Kyouko instead of waiting for it to boil over, Ayano got up from her desk and made her way to the door only to have it open on her from the other side.

Standing in front of her was Kyouko. Avoiding eye contact, Kyouko peered into the room to find the other council members busy at work. "Can we talk?" she asked with a distant look.

"Absolutely. Hey guys? I'm just gonna be a minute, okay?" Ayano yelled behind her shoulder as they left the room, to which she received various blank responses.

The two girls stood in the empty hall for an awkward moment before Kyouko finally said "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you lately. I guess I overreacted and I understand that there are reasons why we have to keep our relationship a secret." She still wasn't looking Ayano in the eyes.

It sounded very rehearsed, in fact, Kyouko probably didn't even come up with it herself, but Ayano couldn't help but smile at her apology. "Thanks" Ayano replied. "How about we go on another date tonight?" Ayano asked, too happy to be embarrassed.

"Really? Can we?" Kyouko pestered, finally meeting Ayano's eyes.

"Umm, yeah, I mean, if you want to..." Ayano slurred, becoming her usual flustered self.

"Yay! Thank you so much!" Kyouko cheered as she latched herself onto Ayano's waist. Ayano could feel her cheeks redden, but did not care; it felt like it had been an eternity since she had been hugged by Kyouko.

"It's not really a big deal..." said Ayano, forgetting where she was momentarily.

"Let's go watch a movie together!" said Kyouko. "I can't wait!" Ayano just nodded in agreement with a far-off look on her face. Kyouko proceeded to make plans with Ayano and then the two girls said farewell and parted on their ways. Kyouko made her way back to the amusement club where Akari was waiting for her.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"You were right; apologizing was definitely worth it!"

"That's great! I'm glad it went well."

"Yeah! We're even going on a date!" Kyouko cheered as the two girls made their way inside the building where Yui and Chinatsu were

"Hey. Did you manage to get that form to Ayano?" Yui asked, noticing the return of her two friends.

"No. Turns out I lost it, so I'll have to get it to her another time" Kyouko answered, taking her usual place.

"Jeez. You really ought to keep better track of your stuff. Ayano's going to get sick of hounding you down for it."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll remember it next time" she said lazily.

The four girls lounged a while longer in the amusement room before Yui got up and said "I'm heading home. You want to come with me Kyouko?"

Kyouko started to debate the subject. "Hmm, I kind of have plans later this-"

"I bought some rum raisin ice cream the other day."

"I guess I can come for a little while" said Kyouko, caving in. The two girls said goodbye to their friends and left the club room. Once they made it to Yui's house, Kyouko made a mad dash to the fridge.

"That's not very good manners" Yui chastised.

"Thank you for the food!" Kyouko hastily replied as she opened her treat and began eating away. After that, they started playing on Yui's PS3. After a while of Yui grinding, trying to level up some more, Kyouko noticed the time and realized she needed to get going if she wanted to be on time for her date.

Kyouko was about to get up from the couch when Yui spoke up and asked "Do you want to sleep over tonight?"

Kyouko was a bit shocked at first that Yui was the one asking her, but she quickly recovered and said "I actually have plans tonight"

Yui looked over at Kyouko and said "But, you know... Like you said before, I get lonely sometimes..."

Confused for only a brief moment, Kyouko started to realize that this strange behaviour must have had something to do with the reason she was crying before. "Well I really have something I need to do right now, but can I come back over after?"

"Okay, I guess" replied Yui, as she returned to her game. "What do you need to do anyways?"

"I need to- Oh crap! I'm going to be late! I'll see you in about two and a half hours, maybe longer okay?" Kyouko shouted as she ran out the door.

* * *

Ayano was standing outside of the local theatre. _She seemed so excited. Is she really not going to come? _Ayano wondered, a little disappointed. Finally, right when she had almost given up hope, Ayano heard quick-paced footsteps coming towards her.

"I'm so sorry Ayano! I left- huff- with just barely enough time to make it, but there was construction on the main road, so I had to go through the park and then come back up three blocks" Kyouko tried to explain as she caught her breath.

"Geez, you haven't even changed out of your uniform yet..." Ayano speculated.

Kyouko looked up and noticed Ayano was wearing a thin, teal hoodie with a purple t-shirt underneath. "Oh yeah, I was over at Yui's so..." Ayano felt her mood drop.

"Whatever... The doors already closed so we'll have to watch a different movie" She explained as she led Kyouko inside.

"Sorry" Kyouko apologized.

"It's fine, I never really cared about the movie in the first place" Ayano answered.

"Aww! Really? You're so sweet!" Kyouko exclaimed.

"What!? Did I just say that out loud?" Ayano blushed in horror. Kyouko laughed as she walked up to the counter.

"Hi can I get a large tub of popcorn and a large coke?" Kyouko asked.

"Sure, and what can I get for your friend?" the boy at the register asked.

"Hey! I'm not some kind of pig! This is my girlfriend and we're sharing it! You better give us two straws also..." Kyouko snapped.

"I'm sorry... You're both girls so I just assumed-"

"Whatever..." Kyouko sighed as she turned around. She saw Ayano had turned even more red and asked "What's wrong babe?"

That just made Ayano even more embarrassed. She looked away and muttered "Was it necessary to tell that guy that we're dating?"

"What? Telling him won't get you in trouble with the student council. What's the problem?" Kyouko asked, feeling a little irritated.

"Oh yeah, never mind, sorry" Ayano said.

Kyouko sighed once more as she started to reach for her purse when she realized she hadn't gone home yet today. "Uh-oh" Kyouko said.

"You forgot to bring money didn't you? Haha, that means I get to pay today!" Ayano smirked.

_You **want** to pay? I'll never understand women... _Thought the cashier as he handed them their refreshments.

"It looks there are only two movies playing right now" Kyouko said. "Spot the Hero Dog, or The Ritual"

"Well Spot the Hero Dog just sounds stupid." Ayano complained.

"You don't like that kind of stuff?"

"Of course not!"

"Huh..." Kyouko looked genuinely surprised as she walked over to the poster for the other movie. "It's rated 15-R. It looks like a horror movie; are you sure you want to watch it?"

"I can watch a horror movie! I'm not a child like you seem to be thinking!" Ayano pouted.

"Alright then" Kyouko said as Ayano went to buy the tickets.

* * *

When they got in, the movie was just starting. As she watched, Kyouko thought that the movie might actually be pretty good. Ten minutes in, she looked over to Ayano to see her not facing the screen. Ayano saw Kyouko looking at her and pretended to be stretching. She turned around to face the screen just as the first jump-scare happened.

Ayano flinched violently and let out a short squeal. Kyouko looked at her out of concern and Ayano replied by whispering "It surprised me that's all"

_That's the point... _Thought Kyouko.

Halfway through the movie Ayano was trembling, but forcing herself to watch it. "Do you want to leave?" Kyouko whispered.

"It-it's just getting good. Why would we leave now?" Ayano replied shakily. As she turned to face Kyouko, the glint of tears could be seen in the corner of her eyes.

"Then at least cuddle with me. I'm too scared!" Kyouko whispered in mock fear as she pulled up the armrest in between them.

"I g-guess I have no choice..." Ayano said as she latched onto Kyouko without delay. Kyouko softly stroked Ayano's soft, purple hair throughout the rest of the movie.

When they finally exited the cinema, Ayano was still holding onto Kyouko and had her face buried in her shoulder. Kyouko could feel the vibrations of the terrified Ayano.

"It's okay; the movie is over now" Kyouko spoke softly into her girlfriend's ear.

Ayano looked up at Kyouko with her moist eyes then swivelled her head around to survey the rest of her surroundings. "I knew that! It was a surprisingly tame movie. I lost my focus at a few parts."

"Let's go get some dessert!" Kyouko suggested.

"Yeah..." Ayano replied blankly.

Kyouko was a bit worried for Ayano, but once they started eating Ayano returned to her original self and the two girls started having a fun conversation.

After they finished Ayano paid the bill and they started to leave. Kyouko suddenly remembered how the boy working at the theatre called Ayano her "friend" and grabbed Ayano's hand so people could get the idea.

Ayano blushed and tried to pull away at first, as there were quite a few people around, but apparently Kyouko's plan worked because a lady carrying a teal hoodie walked up to Kyouko and said, "Excuse me dear, but I think your, um, girlfriend left this sweater behind at the store."

Kyouko was about to thank the lady when Ayano said "We're just friends." Kyouko let Ayano's hand go.

The lady replied, "I'm so sorry, it's so hard to tell these days. You two be safe now" and walked off.

Ayano thanked the lady and started to resume walking, but stopped and turned around when Kyouko didn't follow. "Kyouko? What's wrong?"

"You liar..." she muttered.

"What?" Ayano asked, bewildered.

"You liar! I knew it!" Kyouko started shouting making a little bit of a scene.

"What are you talking about?"

"I knew it! It has nothing to do with the student council! The only reason you want to keep our relationship a secret is because your ashamed of it!"

"Wait! No I-" Ayano started to protest.

"Do you think there's something wrong with us being happy together?"

"No I-"

"Why should I even waste my time with someone who tries to hide me? Maybe what you told that lady was right after all" Kyouko huffed as she stormed away. _Why am I so mad? I stopped getting mad a long time ago..._ Although she tried she couldn't even think straight.

"Wait Kyouko! I'm sorry!" Ayano yelled. Kyouko thought her voice sounded strange and turned around to see what it was. She regretted doing this as when she turned around she found Ayano standing where she had left her with tears falling off of her cheek. Kyouko resisted the urge to run back and comfort her, and instead turned around once more and started running towards Yui's house.

* * *

Yui got up off the couch the instant she heard knocking at the door. She had been waiting for Kyouko the whole time and was a little bit excited when she finally got there. When she opened the door Kyouko stormed inside right past her without saying a word.

"You seem angry" Yui commented.

"I don't want to talk about it" Kyouko shot back.

"That's not very much like you"

"I said I don't want to talk about it... Let's just do something alright?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know! I just need to get my mind off of things!" Kyouko shouted as she buried her face into the couch. Yui hadn't seen Kyouko like this for a very long time and was a little confused on what to do.

"Off of what?" she decided to ask.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Kyouko sighed into the furniture.

"You know you can tell me" Yui said, as she put a hand on her friend's back.

"What about you?" Kyouko asked, spinning around to face Yui.

"What about me?"

"Isn't there something you need to tell me?" Kyouko started interrogating.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been acting strange recently"

"Well it's just-" Yui started. "You know what? I don't really feel like talking about it either. Let's just do something else."

The two girls talked into the night while playing video games. Kyouko was enjoying herself, but in the back of her mind the picture of Ayano's sobbing face kept popping up. Behind the enjoyment was a bundle of emotions swirling around.

"It's getting late" Yui said after a few hours. "We have school tomorrow"

"Yeah, okay" Kyouko replied absentmindedly. The two girls ended up sleeping together again. To Kyouko's surprise Yui did not complain. Kyouko almost wished she had.

* * *

Ayano slowly rose out of bed. When had she fallen asleep? She spent what seemed like hours crying into a pillow the night before. _I'm such an idiot. Why would I say something like that? Now Kyouko will hate me._ That was all that could go through her head.

With a jump she noticed the time. She was going to be late for school! Not even considering the consequences, Ayano dashed out of the house, skipping breakfast.

* * *

After much harassment from Yui, Kyouko reluctantly had gone to school. She was nervous. What would she say when she saw Ayano? However, as class started, Ayano never showed up. This was extremely unusual. Kyouko was feeling even more anxious when suddenly the door burst open.

"Ah, Ayano-chan you're-" the teacher suddenly stopped speaking when she saw Ayano's appearance. It was a bit of a shock to all of her classmates, but Kyouko couldn't look for more than a few seconds. Ayano stood in the doorway for an awkward moment while her classmates beheld her red eyes and poorly kept hair which was not in her signature ponytail.

"You... can wait in the hall" the teacher said while dropping her voice.

"Yes ma'am" Ayano replied, apparently not aware of her image.

* * *

When Kyouko left class she passed by Ayano. It looked like she tried to say something to Kyouko, but Kyouko just kept walking on past. Kyouko continued to the amusement club where she took refuge from the outside world.

"Yui-senpai! Please dance with me tomorrow!" cried Chinatsu.

"Hm? Why?" Yui asked.

"What do you mean why? The Christmas dance is tomorrow!"

"Oh really? I forgot all about it. Don't worry, I'll dance with you" Yui smiled as she ruffled Chinatsu's hair. Kyouko felt a little annoyed at this display, as she was already in a bad mood.

"How did your date go last night?" asked a whisper in Kyouko's ear.

"Ahh! Don't sneak up on me like that Akari!" Kyouko exclaimed.

"What? I was sitting beside you the whole time..." Akari pouted. Akari waited for Yui and Chinatsu to become distracted again until she asked "So? How was it?"

"How was what?" Kyouko questioned, returning her attention to her friend.

"Your date." At first Kyouko planned to pull a 'I don't want to talk about it', but what she actually wanted was someone to confide in and she caved in before long.

"I don't get it! Everything was going so good and then I screwed everything up! No, wait, Ayano screwed everything up, or, I-"

"Let's talk about this outside" Akari suggested.

Once outside Kyouko continued. "I'm so mad at her! Yet, I feel guilty... I don't get it!"

"What happened?" Akari badgered.

"She just... She acts like us dating is something wrong! Like other people would burn us if they found out! I felt so proud to be dating Ayano... I wanted to go tell everyone I could, but she was the exact opposite. It makes it seem like she doesn't value me at all." Kyouko finished with a huff, close to tears.

"I think..." Akari started. "Ayano is just shy. Maybe she just acts that way because she is afraid of others' opinions.

"It shouldn't matter what other people think!" Kyouko said.

"It's great that you think that, but there are lots of people who don't realize that. Ayano is probably really self-aware and sensitive to the way she appears to other people."

"But sometimes she would just deny that we were dating even after people already assumed we were!" Kyouko defended.

"Did you talk to her about it?" Kyouko felt like she had just been slapped. Her mind replayed all of the times Kyouko cut Ayano off or the time she ignored her.

"When-" Kyouko looked up at Akari. "When did you stop being such a doofus and become so wise?"

"Hey! That's mean! I've always been like this! This is just the first time anyone other than Onee-chan would listen to what I have to say..." Akari whined.

"Alright... Thanks Akarin. I think I'll try to talk to Ayano." Kyouko said as she got up.

"Good luck!" Akari cheered.

"Thanks" Kyouko responded, and with that she left. However, as Kyouko was heading to find Ayano, the bell rang. _Well, I'll probably find her in the classroom now, _Kyouko thought. When she entered the classroom though, Ayano was nowhere to be seen.

The teacher saw Kyouko looking around and said "Are you looking for Sugiura-kun? She went home early today."

"Oh, thank you Sensei" Kyouko said as she sat down in disappointment. _Are you okay Ayano?_

* * *

Ayano was lying in her bed staring at the ceiling. This wasn't like their last fight. Kyouko was actually angry this time. Being that close to Kyouko was too hard. Especially when she was being ignored like that. Kyouko would never want to talk to her again and Ayano would spend the rest of her life regretting what she had done. At least, that's what she told herself as she lay in bed feeling sorry for herself. Even if she knew it wasn't true that was the way it felt.

Ayano got up to look at the clock and noticed it was lunch time. She felt kind of bad leaving all of the student council work to her kouhai, but it was the last day so she was sure they could manage. So Ayano just continued to lay there. In the empty house. All alone. Just like that kid in the movie she watched the night before.

Suddenly, Ayano heard a noise coming from somewhere inside the house. It sounded like something moving. Like some kind of evil monster. Ayano sat straight up in her bed and wrapped her blankets around her as she hugged her pillow. She thought she should probably go check what that noise was, so that's what she decided to do... Except for the fact that her body did not want to move a muscle. She wasn't scared though... Alright, maybe a little scared.

Ayano started recalling all the terrifying scenes she had witnessed last night. Where was Kyouko to stroke her hair? _Oh yeah she's at school wishing I was dead because I'm such an idiot, _Ayano bitterly thought as she exaggerated the truth once again, forgetting all of her fears in an instant. _She's probably with Yui, having the time of her life. _Ayano realized what she was doing and made herself stop. _I miss Kyouko so bad! _Ayano screamed in her head as she started to roll around on her bed. She felt like an idiot for thinking that everything would be perfect after they started dating. Ayano started to wonder, _How mad is Kyouko? _They hadn't already broken up, or had they? Ayano remembered Kyouko saying something about them being friends, but that was just a threat, right?

Ayano started to panic. They couldn't be breaking up now! Ayano thought back to the time Kyouko made her promise to never leave her and realized Kyouko never promised the same thing. Now Ayano really felt like an idiot! There were probably millions of people who promised the same thing as her, but it still didn't work out for them, so why should it be any different for her? Ayano realized she was not ready to let Kyouko go. She did not spend all those years crushing on her for nothing. She was now desperate to set things right and if that called for desperate measures then that's exactly what Ayano would give. She had a plan and she would need to talk to Himawari to get it to work.

* * *

Kyouko was standing alone beside the punch bowl watching Yui and Chinatsu dance. The way the students were dancing, most people only danced in pairs regardless of the music. The only reason Kyouko even came to the Christmas dance was because she was expecting to meet Ayano there, but so far there was no sign of her. Chinatsu looked like she was off in another land and Yui looked genuinely happy dancing with her as well. Akari was surprisingly popular with the boys, as she must have already danced with at least five and seemed to have more waiting for a turn with her. It looked like every one was having a good time except for Kyouko who was shooting down every boy who came up to talk to her, and there were quite a few of them.

"As the vice president of the student council, I am informed to oblige you that loitering in front of the punch bowl is unacceptable" Sakurako declared as she walked up to Kyouko.

"You mean 'obliged to inform you' Sakurako..." Kyouko drawled.

"Precisely! Now listen to your vice president and move along!"

"Alright, geez" Kyouko muttered as she walked away. _She's being a lot more stuffy about being the vice president than usual. Maybe it's all these guests... _Kyouko wondered as she scanned the crowd for any sign of purple. After a few more minutes of waiting, Kyouko resigned herself to the fact that Ayano would not show up.

"Come on and dance with me!" A voice shouted over the music. Kyouko looked up to see Yui offering a hand. Feeling her mood lighten a little bit, Kyouko accepted the hand and started to dance with Yui. Kyouko also danced with Akari and eventually even danced with Chinatsu for a bit.

Kyouko had more fun than she expected, but never fully stopped thinking about Ayano. Halfway through the event, Himawari walked on to the stage at the front of the gymnasium with a mic and started giving a speech.

"Hello everyone! I hope you are all having fun tonight. I'm the student council president of this school, Himawari Furutani, and I would like to take this moment to give credit to everyone who made this night possible."

Kyouko blocked her out as she drawled out names, everyone clapping each time one was spoken. She had retreated back to the outskirts of the dance and was considering going home when Himawari said something that got her attention.

"-dent, Ayano Sugiura, has prepared something she would like to say." Himawari stepped back and handed the mic to Ayano as she walked on the stage. Kyouko could feel her eyes widen. Where did she come from? Kyouko had been looking for her all night and now she just suddenly appears on stage!

Ayano stood in place for a second, not saying anything. Her face started growing red as she stood there in front of the audience and the whole thing was quite awkward. Finally, right when people started wondering if she was going to say anything or not Ayano shouted into the mic, "I'M IN LOVE WITH TOSHINOU KYOUKO AND I'M PROUD OF IT!" And with that, Ayano handed the mic back to Himawari and ran off the stage.

Things became even more awkward after that. A single person started clapping, while a few others started laughing. There was some screaming near the back of the crowd as a geyser of nose blood rocketed into the air.

It was obvious that Himawari didn't have a clue what to say after something like that. Himawari stood there helplessly and stared at the sea of eyes gazing back at her expectantly, until she met with a very familiar pair of eyes: Sakurako's. Sakurako noticed and at first gave Himawari a look that said, 'What'dya want?' but that look quickly melted into a big goofy smile. Himawari started smiling back unconsciously and found herself wishing she could proclaim her love for that girl like Ayano just did for Kyouko.

Realizing she still had to conclude the speech, Himawari quickly said, "And with that, we hope you have fun the rest of the evening..." Himawari then excused herself from the stage as quickly as possible.

The music resumed and people started dancing again. Kyouko started to make her way to find Ayano before she lost control of her emotions, when someone grabbed her shoulder. Kyouko spun around to find Yui once again.

"There's something I need to talk to you about; can we go outside?" Yui shouted.

"Well... there's- there's kind of that situation I should deal with..." Kyouko poorly explained.

"It will just take a minute! You've been curious about what's been getting me down, right?"

Interested, Kyouko conformed. "Alright, let's go."

Once outside the girls sat down on a bench where the music could only faintly be heard in the background.

"So what did you need to tell me?" Kyouko asked.

"I was over at my parents' house eating dinner, since they like me to check up on the house every once in a while." Yui began.

"Okay" Kyouko prompted.

"I don't know how the conversation got to where it did, but my parents started talking about homosexual people and about how much they despised them."

"Wait, so this is all because someone said they didn't like gay people?"

"What do you mean someone? It's my own parents! I might not still live with them, but that doesn't mean they're not my parents anymore! How would you feel?" Yui exclaimed.

"Well, yeah I guess that must be pretty tough. Now that I think about it, I don't even know how my parents feel about it..."

"And then..." Yui trailed off.

"And then?"

"There's also this girl" Yui whispered. Kyouko started to get excited. Was she finally going to admit that she likes Chinatsu? "Well, actually, I guess there are two girls" Kyouko started to become confused. "...but I think I made up my mind..."

"What are you talking about?" Kyouko asked, honestly lost. Yui didn't answer, but instead grabbed Kyouko's hand. "Huh? Yui?" Kyouko's voice started to drop to a whisper. Yui closed her eyes and started to lean towards Kyouko and Kyouko could feel herself do the same. Kyouko couldn't think straight anymore and came so close to Yui she could smell her.

Yui felt contact and at first was quite pleased. She started to press a bit harder, but noticed that Kyouko's lips seemed to be a lot bigger than they should be. Yui opened her eyes to see Kyouko's face much further away than she expected and instead of where she had assumed Kyouko's lips to be was her hand. She felt a bit embarrassed for making out with Kyouko's hand and also a bit confused.

"Do you... not feel the same way?" Yui asked in disappointment. Kyouko opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly closed it as she fixed her view on a point behind Yui; a shocked expression consumed her face. Yui followed Kyouko's gaze to find Ayano standing there with a similar expression to Kyouko.

For half a second they waited there in silence, until Ayano turned around and started running away. Yui was about to say something when Kyouko leapt from the bench and started sprinting after Ayano.

"Ayano! Wait!" Kyouko yelled as they disappeared from Yui's sight. Surprisingly Ayano obeyed and turned around to face Kyouko. Her eyes were visibly moist. Kyouko caught up to her and said, "Please let me explain! How much did you see? It's probably not what you think!"

"... I saw you block Yui from kissing you..." Ayano mumbled in a tiny voice.

"Then why did you run away?" Kyouko asked.

"I don't know... I guess I kind of felt pathetic seeing another girl trying to kiss the person I just confessed my love for in front of a mastodonic crowd... And I also saw you lean in..." Ayano whimpered.

"That was just..." Why would Kyouko do that? Now she was really glad she didn't follow through with that kiss. "It just took me by surprise" Kyouko decided. "I never even considered Yui liking me, so when she went to kiss me I was really shocked. Once I realized what was happening I put my hand between us."

"But-"

"Hey, there's no way I'd ever take Yui over you. That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen anyone do. The way you stood up in front of that crowd and told them your true feelings... Especially coming from my shy Ayano." Kyouko whispered as she pulled Ayano into a hug.

"I was just so afraid I lost you!" Ayano yelled as she finally lost her grip and started sobbing into Kyouko's chest. "It was all my fault! I should have been a better girlfriend!"

"It wasn't your fault. I was being a spoiled brat... You are the best girlfriend ever so how could you be any better? So please stop crying." Kyouko started stroking Ayano's hair, as it was seeming to become a habit. Ayano looked up at Kyouko. Kyouko was trying to be strong for Ayano and gave her a big smile, but even Kyouko could feel a lump at the back of her throat.

"Can... I kiss you?" Ayano whispered. Kyouko answered by leaning in.

* * *

Kyouko and Ayano had spent the rest of the dance sitting outside together, side by side, just enjoying each others' company.

"It feels like forever since we last talked" Ayano hummed.

"It's only been like... two days" Kyouko giggled. "By the way, what's going to happen to you as the council president now that you did that?"

"What?" Ayano questioned. "Weren't you listening to Himawari?"

"No, why?"

"I resigned from my position. Himawari is the new president and Sakurako is the vice president now."

"Then what are you going to do from now on?" Kyouko asked, concerned.

"I don't know... I think I'll join a different club, but maybe one that's not so busy. I was thinking maybe a sport, like track and field, or volleyball, or something like that."

"Hmm... I could see you doing good at that. I guess you would be good at anything though, wouldn't you?" Kyouko flirted.

"By the way..." Ayano said with a blush on her face.

"What is it?"

"My... 'speech' wasn't too cheesy, was it?"

Kyouko chuckled. "It was extremely cheesy! That's what made it perfect!"

* * *

A/N: Hey, so I was proofreading this, but I started to fall asleep in the middle of it, but I just really want to get this chapter up so hopefully it's not too bad. Anyways I'm not really sure how well I handled the drama so some feedback would be nice. If you didn't like it then don't worry because the next chapter should be a fun and happy one.


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